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stocking advice/opinions wanted

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So I new to fish keeping and i have more or less an idea of wat to stock my open top 20g long (currently i have only 4 platies and an oto) however, im looking for that one fish that will tie my tank together. my stocking plans are as follows: 6 platy( 2 males and 4 females), about 3-4 otocinclus(haven't decided yet), and 10 cardinal tetras(although neon tetras will go easier on my bio-load so im undicided on this too). i was planning on keeping cherry shrimp but i dont want to risk them jumping out and im looking into black khuli loaches (i really like their eel-like body). My tank will be planted but i doubt it'll be planted heavily. Any ideas/suggestions or advice?

really? from my understanding cardinals were slightly hardier but the main reason i wanted them over neons was because of neon disease or w/e its called. cardinals are apparently immune to it. i hear its rare so im most likely just paranoid.

The Neon Tetra disease is hit and miss depending largly on how you maintain your tank. This quote is from the Baensch aquarium Atlas Vol 1; "Under the proper conditions, such as a darker gravel bottom, regular water changes and vegetation, a Neon can live more than ten years".

Once acclimated a Neon can stand harder water and PH up to 8.0 though they would prefer softer water and lower PH closer to 7.0.

Cardinals on the other hand like thier water soft at a PH around 6.2 although I've seen them kept in tanks higher than that.

The Neon Tetra disease is hit and miss depending largly on how you maintain your tank. This quote is from the Baensch aquarium Atlas Vol 1; "Under the proper conditions, such as a darker gravel bottom, regular water changes and vegetation, a Neon can live more than ten years".

Once acclimated a Neon can stand harder water and PH up to 8.0 though they would prefer softer water and lower PH closer to 7.0.

Cardinals on the other hand like thier water soft at a PH around 6.2 although I've seen them kept in tanks higher than that.

So then it WAS paranoia. Maybe it was some of the horror stories I been told...
So far, I'm pretty sure my aquarium is well kept. Since its still cycling (almost done, maybe under a week) I have been changing my water about 3 times a week at 20%; after the cycle, it'll be once a week at maybe 20/30%.
My tap water seems to be at about 7.0 pH so no problems there.
Now when people say "soft" and "hard" I originally thought high or low or neutral pH but now I wondering if that's referring to salt levels?

i've also already made up my mind about what i'll stock: 6 platties, 6 otocinclus, 10 neons and 10 cherry shrimp and a honey gourami(not set in stone yet but very likely), any thoughts on this? I already know to look out for the shrimp so i'll add those last once i have some nice hideouts for them.

I believe i can do the pair but not the group. I'm going to look for alternatives for the gourami just in case, something that may be a loner. gourami's are sensitive to sound too right? my aquarium is in the living room with the tv. it'll be noisy sometimes but i dont use theater systems or anything like that. think that'll be ok for gourami?

So then it WAS paranoia. Maybe it was some of the horror stories I been told...
So far, I'm pretty sure my aquarium is well kept. Since its still cycling (almost done, maybe under a week) I have been changing my water about 3 times a week at 20%; after the cycle, it'll be once a week at maybe 20/30%.
My tap water seems to be at about 7.0 pH so no problems there.
Now when people say "soft" and "hard" I originally thought high or low or neutral pH but now I wondering if that's referring to salt levels?

i've also already made up my mind about what i'll stock: 6 platties, 6 otocinclus, 10 neons and 10 cherry shrimp and a honey gourami(not set in stone yet but very likely), any thoughts on this? I already know to look out for the shrimp so i'll add those last once i have some nice hideouts for them.

Looks good but you might cut back on the Platies they produce a lot of waste.